Operation of mixed mode blocks

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses and methods for operating mixed mode blocks. One example method can include tracking single level cell (SLC) mode cycles and extra level cell (XLC) mode cycles performed on the mixed mode blocks, maintaining a mixed mode cycle count corresponding to the mixed mode blocks, and adjusting the mixed mode cycle count differently for mixed mode blocks operated in a SLC mode than for mixed blocks operated in a XLC mode.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.16/412,879, filed on May 15, 2019, which is a Divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/479,356 filed on Apr. 5, 2017, which issued asU.S. Pat. No. 10,325,668 on Jun. 18, 2019, the contents of which areincluded herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to memory devices, and moreparticularly, to apparatuses and methods for operation of mixed modeblocks.

BACKGROUND

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor,integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There aremany different types of memory including volatile and non-volatilememory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data andincludes random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory(DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), amongothers. Non-volatile memory can provide persistent data by retainingstored data when not powered and can include NAND flash memory, NORflash memory, read only memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable ProgrammableROM (EEPROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), and resistance variablememory such as phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistiverandom access memory (RRAM), and magnetoresistive random access memory(MRAM), among others.

Memory devices can be combined together to form a storage volume of amemory system such as a solid state drive (SSD). A solid state drive caninclude non-volatile memory (e.g., NAND flash memory and NOR flashmemory), and/or can include volatile memory (e.g., DRAM and SRAM), amongvarious other types of non-volatile and volatile memory.

An SSD can be used to replace hard disk drives as the main storagevolume for a computer, as the solid state drive can have advantages overhard drives in terms of performance, size, weight, ruggedness, operatingtemperature range, and power consumption. For example, SSDs can havesuperior performance when compared to magnetic disk drives due to theirlack of moving parts, which may avoid seek time, latency, and otherelectro-mechanical delays associated with magnetic disk drives.

In various instances, a single level memory cell (SLC) can refer to acell programmed to a targeted one of two different data states andconfigured to store a single data unit (e.g., one bit). Some memorycells (e.g., Flash cells, phase change cells, etc.) can be programmed toa targeted one of more than two different data states such that they areconfigured to store more than a single data unit (e.g., 2 bits, 2.5bits, 3 bits, 4 bits, etc.). Such cells may be referred to as multistate memory cells, multiunit cells, multilevel cells, or extra levelcells (XLCs). XLCs can provide higher density memories withoutincreasing the number of memory cells since each cell can represent morethan one data unit.

Various memory cells experience wear over time due to programming and/orerase cycling, for instance. Memory devices comprising such memory cellscan have device specifications such as a total bytes written (TBW)specification and/or a cycle count (e.g., erase count and/or programcount) specification, for example, used to gauge a device's healthand/or useful life. Some memory cells are capable of being operated(e.g., programed, read, erased, etc.) in both an SLC mode and an XLCmode (e.g., 2-bit “MLC” mode, 3-bit “TLC” mode, 4-bit “QLC” mode, etc.).Such cells can be referred to as “mixed mode” memory cells. Providingaccurate device specifications for mixed mode memory devices can bechallenging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a computingsystem including at least one memory system in accordance a number ofembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a portion of a memory array havinggroups of memory cells organized as a number of mixed mode physicalblocks in accordance with a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating comparisons of actual cycle counts toeffective cycle counts for a number of different XLC operating modes inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Apparatuses and methods for operating mixed mode blocks. In one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure, a controller may be coupled to amemory. The controller may be configured to track single level cell(SLC) mode cycles and extra level cell (XLC) mode cycles performed onthe mixed mode blocks, maintain a mixed mode cycle count correspondingto the mix mode blocks, and adjust the mixed mode cycle countdifferently for mixed mode blocks operated in a SLC mode than for mixedmode blocks operated in a XLC mode.

One example method can include tracking single level cell (SLC) modecycles and extra level cell (XLC) mode cycles of mixed mode blocks ofmemory cells and determining a mixed mode cycle count by adjusting acounter by a first amount for each SLC mode cycle and adjusting thecounter by a second amount for each XLC mode cycle. In a number ofembodiments, mixed mode blocks are XLC blocks operating in both SLC modeand XLC mode. Host data written in SLC mode is faster and more reliablethan writing host data in XLC mode. In a number of embodiments, once adrive reaches a particular threshold capacity, SLC data is folded intoXLC cells (e.g., via garbage collection).

The life time of the drive, known as drive life can be expressed as ametric of total bytes written (TBW), which is the amount of bytes thatcan be written to a drive in the life time of the drive. The TBW can bedetermined, for example, based on the number of memory blocks multipliedby the amount of data per memory block multiplied by the number ofcycles. The amount of data per memory block is dependent on theoperating mode (e.g., XLC or SLC).

Typically an advertised user size of a system is based on memory writtenin a native XLC operating mode. Native XLC operating modes can includean N-bit mode where N is a real number greater than zero. For example,in a number of embodiments the XLC operating mode can include 2-bit percell mode, which may be referred to as multilevel cell (MLC) mode, 3-bitper cell mode, which may be referred to as triple level cell (TLC) mode,and 4-bit per cell mode, which may be referred to as quadruple levelcell (QLC) mode, among various other XLC modes. Accordingly, for a givenamount of data, programming a mixed mode block in SLC mode results intwo, three, or four times the quantity of physical cycles as compared toprogramming the blocks in MLC, TLC, or QLC mode, respectively. Thereforeusing an XLC block in SLC mode consumes more cycles and hence requiresadditional XLC endurance capability.

Wear rate on memory blocks is typically proportional to the cycle countand the wear rate and/or cycle count can be treated as a metric for celldegradation. Cell endurance capability of an XLC block can be specifiedas XLC program/erase cycles (PEC). When operating mixed mode blocks inSLC or XLC mode the wear ratio of SLC to XLC operation is a measure ofcell degradation.

In a number of embodiments of the present disclosure, the TBWspecification associated with an apparatus is based on a mixed modecycle count, which can be referred to as an “effective cycle count”since it is different than a count of the actual physical cyclesexperienced by mixed mode blocks. Determining drive life and/or TBWbased on a determined effective cycle count and/or performing wearleveling based on the effective cycle count can improve the performance(e.g., increase the speed, increase the reliability, and/or decrease thepower consumption) of the memory and/or increase the endurance (e.g.,increase the lifetime) of the memory, among other benefits. Using theeffective cycle count to determine TBW instead of an actual cycle countin a mixed operating mode may also provide a more accurate TBW value.Since the actual cycle count is always higher than the effective cyclecount, reporting the drive life (e.g., the percentage of NAND programerase cycle capability that has been already consumed in terms of actualerase count) results in a pessimistic drive life when compared to thetrue life of the NAND.

In the following detailed description of the present disclosure,reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof,and in which is shown by way of illustration how a number of embodimentsof the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art topractice the embodiments of this disclosure, and it is to be understoodthat other embodiments may be utilized and that process, electrical,and/or structural changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure.

As used herein, “a number of” something can refer to one or more of suchthings. For example, a number of memory devices can refer to one or moreof memory devices. Additionally, designators such as “N”, “M”, “S”, and“R”, as used herein, particularly with respect to reference numerals inthe drawings, indicates that a number of the particular feature sodesignated can be included with a number of embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the firstdigit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and theremaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing.Similar elements or components between different figures may beidentified by the use of similar digits. As will be appreciated,elements shown in the various embodiments herein can be added,exchanged, and/or eliminated so as to provide a number of additionalembodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, the proportion andthe relative scale of the elements provided in the figures are intendedto illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure and are notto be used in a limiting sense.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a computingsystem 100 including at least one memory system in accordance with anumber of embodiments of the present disclosure. As used herein, amemory system (e.g., 104), a controller (e.g., 108), or a memory device(e.g., 110-1) might also be separately considered an “apparatus”. Thememory system 104 can be a solid state drive (SSD), for instance, andcan include a host interface 106, a controller 108 (e.g., a processorand/or other control circuitry), and a memory (e.g., a number of memorydevices 110-1, . . . , 110-N), which can comprise solid state memorydevices such as NAND flash devices and can provide a storage volume forthe memory system 104. The memory devices 110-1, . . . , 110-N can bereferred to collectively as memory devices 110 and/or as memory 110). Ina number of embodiments, the controller 108, the memory 110, and/or thehost interface 106 can be physically located on a single die or within asingle package (e.g., a managed NAND application).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the controller 108 can be coupled to the hostinterface 106 and to the memory 110 via a plurality of channels and canbe used to transfer data between the memory system 104 and host 102. Theinterface 106 can be in the form of a standardized interface. Forexample, when the memory system 104 is used for data storage in acomputing system 100, the interface 106 can be a serial advancedtechnology attachment (SATA), peripheral component interconnect express(PCIe), or a universal serial bus (USB), among other connectors andinterfaces. In general, however, interface 106 can provide an interfacefor passing control, address, data, and other signals between the memorysystem 104 and a host 102 having compatible receptors for the interface106.

Host 102 can be a host system such as a personal laptop computer, adesktop computer, a digital camera, a mobile telephone, or a memory cardreader, among various other types of hosts. Host 102 can include asystem motherboard and/or backplane and can include a number of memoryaccess devices (e.g., a number of processors).

The memory devices 110-1, . . . , 110-N can include a number of arraysof memory cells (e.g., non-volatile memory cells). The arrays can beflash arrays with a NAND architecture, for example. However, embodimentsare not limited to a particular type of memory array or arrayarchitecture. As described further below in connection with FIG. 2, thememory cells can be grouped, for instance, into a number of blocksincluding a number of physical pages of memory cells. In a number ofembodiments, a block refers to a group of memory cells that are erasedtogether as a unit. A number of blocks can be included in a plane ofmemory cells and an array can include a number of planes. As oneexample, a memory device may be configured to store 8 KB (kilobytes) ofuser data per page, 128 pages of user data per block, 2048 blocks perplane, and 16 planes per device.

In operation, data can be written to and/or read from a memory device ofa memory system (e.g., memory devices 110-1, . . . , 110-N of system104) as a page of data, for example. As such, a page of data can bereferred to as a data transfer size of the memory system. Data can betransferred to/from a host (e.g., host 102) in data segments referred toas sectors (e.g., host sectors). As such, a sector of data can bereferred to as a data transfer size of the host.

The controller 108 can communicate with the memory devices 110-1, . . ., 110-N to control data read, write, and erase operations, among otheroperations. The controller 108 can include, for example, a number ofcomponents in the form of hardware and/or firmware (e.g., one or moreintegrated circuits) and/or software for controlling access to thenumber of memory devices 110-1, . . . , 110-N and/or for facilitatingdata transfer between the host 102 and memory devices 110-1, . . . ,110-N. For instance, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, thecontroller 108 includes a memory management component 114, whichcomprises a wear leveling component 116 and a tracking component 118. Asshown in FIG. 1, the tracking component 118 can include an XLC cycletracker 120 (“XLC”), a SLC cycle tracker 122 (“SLC”), and a mixed modecycle counter 124 (“COUNT”). The XLC cycle tracker 120 can track (e.g.,maintain a count of) physical cycles to mixed mode blocks in XLC mode(e.g., XLC mode cycles). In a number of embodiments the XLC mode cyclesare XLC blocks erased and/or programmed. Similarly, the SLC cycletracker 122 can track (e.g., maintain a count of) physical cycles tomixed mode blocks in SLC mode (e.g., SLC mode cycles). In a number ofembodiments the SLC mode cycles are SLC blocks erased and/or programmed.The mixed mode cycle counter 124 can provide a mixed mode cycle count,which can be an effective cycle count or a scaled cycle count having adifferent value than an actual quantity of physical cycles performed onthe mixed mode blocks. In a number of embodiments the mixed mode cyclesare mixed mode blocks erased and/or programmed. The actual quantity ofphysical cycles or the unscaled count is based on the quantity of actualcycles experienced by mixed mode blocks (e.g., as determined by XLCcycle tracker 120 and SLC cycle tracker 122).

A mixed mode cycle count can be used instead of an unscaled cycle count.For example, in reporting drive health of a SSD. In a number ofembodiments, the controller can be configured to report a drive healthindicator of the SSD to a host based on the mixed mode cycle count asopposed to based on an unscaled cycle count corresponding to a quantityof actual physical cycles experienced by the mixed mode blocks.

In a number of embodiments, the mixed mode cycle count can be adjusteddifferently for mixed mode blocks operated in a SLC mode than for mixedmode blocks operated in a XLC mode. The mixed mode cycle count can beadjusted by an increment. The increment difference between SLC modecycles and XLC mode cycles can be based on a determined wear ratio ofSLC operation wear to XLC operation wear. In a number of embodiments,the mixed mode cycle count can be determined on a block by block basis.For example, the cycle count corresponding to a particular mixed modeblock can be a mixed mode cycle count that is incremented differentlydepending on the wear ratio. The different increment amount can be basedon the particular wear ratio.

In a number of embodiments, a difference by which the controller adjuststhe mixed mode cycle count for mixed mode blocks operated in the SLCmode than for mixed mode blocks operated in the XLC mode is based on awear ratio of SLC operation wear to XLC operation wear resulting fromadjusted trim settings. Adjusted trim settings can be SLC trim settingsadjusted from initial levels in order to achieve the particular wearratio. SLC trim settings can include write trims and/or erase trims. Ina number of embodiments, adjusted trim settings can include at least oneof: a reduced SLC mode erase verify voltage, a reduced SLC mode programstart voltage, a reduced SLC program verify voltage, and a reduced SLCmode program step voltage.

The memory management component 114 can implement wear leveling (e.g.,via wear leveling component 116) to control the wear rate on the memory110. Wear leveling can reduce the number of process cycles (e.g.,program and/or erase cycles) performed on a particular group of cells byspreading the cycles more evenly over an entire array and/or device.Wear leveling can include dynamic wear leveling to minimize the amountof valid blocks moved to reclaim a block. Dynamic wear leveling caninclude a technique called garbage collection. Garbage collection caninclude reclaiming (e.g., erasing and making available for programming)blocks that have the most invalid pages (e.g., according to a “greedyalgorithm”). Alternatively, garbage collection can include reclaimingblocks with more than a threshold amount (e.g., quantity) of invalidpages. If sufficient free blocks exist for a programming operation, thena garbage collection operation may not occur. An invalid page, forexample, can be a page of data that has been updated to a differentpage. Static wear leveling can include writing static data to blocksthat have high program/erase counts to prolong the life of the block.

The wear leveling component 116 can perform wear leveling based on themixed mode cycle count 124, determined in accordance with a number ofembodiments described herein, as opposed to based on an unscaled cyclecount corresponding to a quantity of actual physical cycles experiencedby the mixed mode blocks. For instance, wear leveling can be performedbased on the effective cycle count by writing data to a memory blockwith the lowest mixed mode cycle count (e.g., as opposed to selecting ablock with the lowest actual cycle count). Since the blocks wear atdifferent rates depending on whether the block is operated in SLC or XLCmode, embodiments of the present disclosure can provide improved wearleveling as compared to previous approaches that perform wear levelingbased on actual cycle counts as opposed to based on effective cyclecounts as described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a portion of a memory array 230 havinggroups of memory cells organized as a number of mixed mode physicalblocks 232-0 (BLOCK 0), 232-1 (BLOCK 1), . . . , 232-M (BLOCK M), inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.Although not shown in FIG. 2, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the memory array 230 can be located on a semiconductordie along with various peripheral circuitry associated with theoperation thereof. The memory cells of array 230 can be, for example,non-volatile floating gate flash memory cells having a NANDarchitecture. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to a particular memory type.

The memory array 230, which can be one of a plurality of arrays on amemory device (e.g memory device 110 in FIG. 1). The blocks 232-0 (BLOCK0), 232-1 (BLOCK 1), . . . , 232-M (BLOCK M) can be mixed mode blocksand can be referred to collectively as blocks 232. In the example shownin FIG. 2, the indicator “M” is used to indicate that the memory device230 can include a number of physical blocks. As an example, the numberof physical blocks in memory array 230 may be 128 blocks, 4,096 blocks,or 32,768 blocks, however embodiments are not limited to a particularnumber of physical blocks in a memory array 230.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, each physical block 232includes which can be erased together as a unit (e.g., the cells in eachphysical block can be erased in a substantially simultaneous manner asan erase unit). As shown in FIG. 2, each physical block 232 comprises anumber of physical rows 234-0, 234-1, . . . , 234-R of memory cells thatcan each be coupled to a respective access line (e.g., word line). Thenumber of rows in each physical block can be 32, 64, or 128, butembodiments are not limited to a particular number of rows, which can bereferred to collectively as rows 234, per block 232.

As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, each row 232 cancomprise a number of physical pages of cells. A physical page of cellscan refer to a number of memory cells that are programmed and/or readtogether or as a functional group. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2,each row 232 can comprise one physical page of cells. However,embodiments of the present disclosure are not so limited. For instance,each row 232 can comprise multiple physical pages of cells (e.g., aneven page associated with cells coupled to even-numbered bit lines, andan odd page associated with cells coupled to odd numbered bit lines).Additionally, for XLC mode cells, a physical page can store multiplelogical pages of data with each cell in a physical page contributing abit toward a logical lower page, a bit toward a logical upper page, andone or more bits toward a respective number of logical intermediate(e.g., middle) pages.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, a physical page corresponding to a row232 can store a number of sectors 236-0, 236-1, . . . , 236-S of data(e.g., an amount of data corresponding to a host sector, such as 512bytes). The sectors 236 may comprise user data as well as overhead data,such as error correction code (ECC) data and logical block address (LBA)data.

It is noted that other configurations for the physical blocks 232, rows234, sectors 236, and pages are possible. For example, the rows 234 ofthe physical blocks 232 can each store data corresponding to a singlesector which can include, for example, more or less than 512 bytes.

FIG. 3 is a table 340 illustrating comparisons of actual cycle counts toeffective cycle counts for a number of different XLC operating modes inaccordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure. Theexample shown in FIG. 3 assumes an amount of host data “Y” is written tomixed mode blocks in SLC mode and twice as much data “2Y” is written(e.g., in association with garbage collection) to the mixed mode blockin an XLC mode (e.g., as garbage collection data). Column 344 representsactual physical cycle counts 344-1, 344-2, and 344-3 corresponding torespective XLC configurations 342-1 (MLC/2-bit per cell), 343-2(TLC/3-bit per cell), and 342-3 (QLC/4-bit per cell). Column 346represents mixed mode cycle counts (e.g., “effective” cycle counts)346-1, 346-2, and 346-3 corresponding to the respective XLCconfigurations 342-1, 342-2, and 342-3 for a given wear ratio (e.g., awear ratio of 2 in this example). The wear ratio of SLC mode cycles toXLC mode cycles can be accounted for via the determined effective cyclecount in accordance with embodiments described herein. For instance, fora determined wear ratio of 2, a mixed mode cycle counter can beincremented by a first amount (e.g., S) for each SLC mode cycle and by adifferent amount (e.g., WR×X) for each XLC mode cycle, where “WR” is thewear ratio (e.g., 2 in this example), “S” is the quantity of actual SLCmode cycles, and “X” is the quantity of actual XLC mode cycles. In thismanner, the count of the mixed mode cycle counter will be an effective(e.g., scaled) cycle count as opposed to a true physical cycle count.Therefore, using the effective cycle count for device specifications, asopposed to an actual cycle count, can result in a higher TBWspecification, for example.

In FIG. 3, for MLC mode configuration 342-1, 50% of the total actualcycles 344-1 are SLC mode cycles (e.g., 2 actual SLC mode cycles and 2actual MLC cycles). However, taking into account the wear ratio of 2yields an effective cycle count 346-1 resulting in SLC usage effectivelyaccounting for 33% (⅓) of the total cycles. For TLC mode configuration342-2, 60% of the total actual cycles 344-2 are SLC mode cycles (e.g., 3actual SLC mode cycles and 2 actual TLC cycles). However, taking intoaccount the wear ratio of 2 yields an effective cycle count 346-2resulting in SLC usage effectively accounting for about 42% ( 3/7) ofthe total cycles. For QLC mode configuration 342-3, 66% (⅔) of the totalactual cycles 344-3 are SLC mode cycles (e.g., 4 actual SLC mode cyclesand 2 actual QLC cycles). However, taking into account the wear ratio of2 yields an effective cycle count 346-3 resulting in SLC usageeffectively accounting for 50% of the total cycles.

The effective cycle count provides a more accurate cell wear value. Thisis done using a wear ratio. In FIG. 3 for example, the wear ratio is 2.Therefore when using an effective cycle count, the SLC usage accountsfor 33% of total cycles for memory blocks in MLC mode based on equation346-1, 42% of total cycles for equation 346-2 in TLC mode, and 50% oftotal cycles for equation 346-3 in QLC mode.

In a number of embodiments, various trim settings corresponding to mixedmode operation can be adjusted to achieve a particular wear ratio of SLCoperation wear to XLC operation wear. Trim settings that can be adjustedcan include various write trims and/or erase trims. For example, writetrims can include a program start voltage, program verificationvoltage(s), and program step voltage(s), among others. Erase trims caninclude an erase verify voltage, for example, which can be adjusted toresult in a shallow erase. Adjustments to SLC mode trim settings, suchas reducing the program start voltage, program verify voltage, and/orstep voltage can reduce the wear experienced by the mixed mode blocksdue to SLC operation, which can help to increase the wear ratio.Additionally, the SLC mode erase verify voltage can be reduced (e.g.,such that it has a smaller magnitude), which can also reduce the weardue to the SLC mode erase and help to increase the wear ratio. In anumber of embodiments, the adjusted SLC trim settings may be appliedonly to mixed mode blocks that are to be written in SLC mode. Forexample, it may not be beneficial to perform a shallow erase operationon a mixed mode block to be written in XLC mode since the shallow erasemay have an effect on the accuracy of XLC writing.

In one or more embodiments the mixed mode cycle count can be determinedaccording to a relationship:

$\frac{\left( {(S) + \left( {{WR} \times X} \right)} \right)}{WR},$

wherein “S” is a determined quantity of SLC mode cycles (e.g., erases),“X” is a determined quantity of XLC mode cycles (e.g., erases), and “WR”is a wear ratio of SLC operation wear to XLC operation wear. In a numberof embodiments, a cycle count increment factor can be in associated withincrementing the effective cycle count. As an example, if the cyclecount increment factor is “1”, then the count of the effective cyclecount counter is incremented by 1 for each actual SLC mode cycle and by2 for each actual XLC mode cycle (e.g., for WR=2). However, if the cyclecount increment factor is “10”, then the count of the effective cyclecount counter is incremented by 10 for each actual SLC mode cycle and by20 for each actual XLC mode cycle. Providing a cycle count incrementfactor of 10 can provide benefits such as avoiding the need to performfloating point operations, which may occur in instances in which thewear ratio is a non-integer value, for example. In cases in which acycle count increment factor is used, normalization can occur to accountfor the increment factor.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anarrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coveradaptations or variations of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be understood that the above description has beenmade in an illustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combinationof the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specificallydescribed herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art uponreviewing the above description. The scope of the various embodiments ofthe present disclosure includes other applications in which the abovestructures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope of variousembodiments of the present disclosure should be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full range ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the presentdisclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matterlies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus,the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separateembodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: tracking single level cell (SLC) mode cycles and extra level cell (XLC) mode cycles of mixed mode blocks of memory cells; and determining a mixed mode cycle count by: adjusting a counter by a first amount for each SLC mode cycle; and adjusting the counter by a second amount for each XLC mode cycle.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes determining the mixed mode cycle count on a block by block basis.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes determining the mixed mode cycle count according to a relationship: $\frac{\left( {(S) + \left( {{WR} \times X} \right)} \right)}{WR};$ wherein “S” is a determined quantity of SLC mode cycles, “X” is a determined quantity of XLC mode cycles, and “WR” is a wear ratio of SLC operation wear to XLC operation wear.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the XLC mode is a N-bit mode where N is a real number greater than one.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes determining a total bytes written (TBW) specification based on the determined mixed mode cycle count.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes determining a drive life based on the determined mixed mode cycle count.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes adjusting trim settings applied to the mixed mode blocks that are written in the SLC mode.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes reporting a drive health indicator to a host based on the mixed mode cycle count.
 9. An apparatus, comprising: a memory comprising mixed mode blocks of memory cells; and a controller coupled to the memory and configured to: track single level cell (SLC) mode cycles and extra level cell (XLC) mode cycles of the mixed mode blocks of memory cells; and adjust cycle count corresponding to a particular mixed mode block by a first amount responsive to operation of the particular mixed mode block in a first mode; adjust the cycle count corresponding to the particular mixed mode block by a second amount responsive to operation of the particular mixed mode block in a second mode; and determine a mixed mode cycle count in response to adjusting the cycle count by the first amount and by the second amount.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the mixed mode blocks are operating in at least one of SLC mode or XLC mode.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second amount is based on a particular wear ratio.
 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the mixed mode cycle count has a different value than an actual quantity of physical cycles performed on the mixed mode blocks.
 13. An apparatus, comprising: a memory comprising mixed mode blocks of memory cells; and a controller coupled to the memory and configured to: track single level cell (SLC) mode cycles and extra level cell (XLC) mode cycles of the mixed mode blocks of memory cells; determine a mixed mode cycle count by: adjusting a counter by a first amount for each SLC mode cycle; and adjusting the counter by a second amount for each XLC mode cycle; and perform a media management operation based on the determined mixed mode cycle count.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the media management operation comprises dynamic wear leveling.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the dynamic wear leveling comprises a garbage collection operation.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to perform the garbage collection operation by reclaiming a particular mixed mode block in response to the particular mixed mode block exceeding a threshold number of invalid pages.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to perform the garbage collection operation by reclaiming a particular mixed mode block in response to the particular mixed mode block having the highest number of invalid pages of the mixed mode blocks.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to perform the garbage collection operation in response to an insufficient number of free mixed mode blocks to perform a programming operation.
 19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the media management operation comprises static wear leveling.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the static wear leveling comprises writing static data to a particular mixed mode block. 